The present invention relates to transportation systems and, more particularly, to a smart mass transit (SMT) rail system that may use green technology and may be applied to, for example, an urban mass transportation system.
Public transportation is widely in use in all parts of the world, but it has its challenges. About 60 billion passenger journeys were made by public transport in 2008 in the European Union. Public transport ridership has increased steadily in the last 10 years in many countries. Between 2004 and 2008, ridership rose by about 11% in Spain, the United Kingdom and in the United States. Cities such as London and Brussels recorded particularly high ridership increases of about 20% during the same period.
Given the carbon footprint of individual modes of transportation and the rise of fuel cost increases, there is a greater need for public transportation, but there are serious hurdles in the deployment of light rail and buses cannot meet all the challenges. Light rail transit is an electric rail-borne form of transportation which can be developed in stages from a tramway to a rapid transit system operated partially on their own right-or-way. The general term “light transit” covers those systems whose role and performance lie between a conventional bus service running on the highway at one extreme and an urban heavy rail or underground metropolitan railway on the other. Light rail systems are typically flexible and expandable. Given the current recessionary environment and shrinking national, state and city budgets, light rail is facing an increased challenge to survive. Where there is enough ridership, issues of carbon footprint and speed of transport become relevant.
As can be seen, there is a need for a mass transit system that may have a small carbon footprint (as compared to, for example, buses) and may be scalable to transport varied amounts of passengers depending on deployment.